Between our Baltimore and Washington, DC, venues, more than 17,500 animals representing 900 species call the National Aquarium home. There are constant changes, additions, and more going on behind the scenes that our guests may not notice during their visit. We want to share these fun updates with our community so we’re bringing them to you in our weekly Animal Update posts!

Check our blog every Friday to find out what’s going on… here’s what’s new this week!

Loggerhead moves!

As we mentioned in yesterday’s Thoughtful Thursday post, our National Aquarium, Washington DC venue hosts and cares for sea turtle hatchlings so they can safely grow as part of the Loggerhead Head Start Program. This week was a very special week in DC because it was turtle moving week!

Sylvia and Earle, the turtles we’ve had for the past year, traveled to North Carolina Aquarium at Pine Knoll Shores on Monday and will be released to the warmer waters soon!

Sylvia and Earle tucked comfortably for their trip to North Carolina!

Although we were sad we had to say farewell to Sylvia and Earle, the team is extremely excited to welcome our new turtle hatchling! The new hatchling arrived on Wednesday and is looking very healthy.

Our new loggerhead hatchling!

As with all of our animals, the young turtle will be in our backup area for at least two weeks for close monitoring before joining its new friends in our exhibit.

Earlier this month, we announced a new addition to our Aquarium family – a baby Linne’s two-toed sloth! Our team has been closely monitoring Ivy and her new baby and we can report that both are very healthy! Taking a cue from Ivy, the baby is even starting to eat solid foods including fruit and vegetables.

Our staff continues to monitor from a distance, allowing for the natural relationship between mother and child. As the baby grows and begins to feel more comfortable exploring, we look forward to determining the baby’s gender.